Filipinos held after illegal Saudi party were ‘food servers’

The six Filipino women were working part-time and did not know they would be arrested during a raid

Six of the 17 Filipinos arrested for attending an illegal party in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were working as food servers, a friend of the woman has said.

A Filipino man identified only as Eddie, who knows the six Filipino women, said they worked as cleaners for a private company.

The six women went to the party to work as part-time servers and did not know they would be arrested, GMA News reported. Eddie said their employer would be providing assistance to the six women.

On Friday evening, Saudi authorities arrested 17 Filipinos who attended a Halloween party which was “forbidden.” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said those arrested were only attending the party and were not the organizers.

Bello said someone called the police to report a party was in progress, which is not allowed in Saudi Arabia. He has instructed Filipino officials in Riyadh to monitor the situation and contact the next of kin of the arrested Filipinos.

Consul General Christopher Patrick Aro said there was no distinction between servers and participants in the party during the raid.